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Buenos Aires' mayor will become Argentina's next president, ending more than a decade of leftist rule. Leftist contender Daniel Scioli conceded defeat after the vote count showed Macri leading with a fair margin.

Sunday's runoff followed elections on October 25, which witnessed Macri come in second to populist Peronist movement candidate Scioli. The two-time mayor of the Argentine capital only came to the fore in the election in recent weeks.

The polls showed Argentines opting for a political shift following 12 years of leftist rule under President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and her late husband, who ruled before her.

"We made an effort and had the will to convince. I am a democrat and I respect the popular will, which has chosen an alternative," Scioli added.

Change of style

"Scioli did not manage to differentiate himself from Fernandez and so people stopped seeing him as a change of style and went over to Macri," said Mariel Fornoni, a consultancy firm director and political analyst.

Meanwhile, outgoing President Fernandez did not indicate whether she would continue to lead her party if Scioli lost at the polls.

"I am an activist. I have never seen myself as a leader in anything, I never order anyone anything, so don't get me into a debate that is not fit for a day like this," Fernandez said after casting her ballot.